Rebaudioside A is a high-potency diterpenoid glycoside sweetener having the chemical structure:
Rebaudioside A is isolated and extracted, along with other steviol glycosides, from the Stevia rebaudiana (Berton) plant (“Stevia”), which is commercially cultivated in Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, China, Israel, India, Brazil, Australia, and Paraguay. It is a natural non-caloric sweetener with functional and sensory properties superior to those of many other non-caloric sweeteners. Processed forms of Stevia can be 70 to 400 times more potent than sugar; however, Stevia also has a bitter component. Of the four major diterpenoid glycoside sweeteners present in Stevia, rebaudioside A has been identified as the least astringent, the least bitter, and with the least persistent aftertaste. However, rebaudioside A still exhibits flavor and taste characteristics that distinguish it from sugar. Accordingly, it may be desirable to modify rebaudioside A to obtain novel compounds useful as sweetening compositions but exhibiting more desirable flavor and/or temporal profiles than rebaudioside A.